The government has launched multi-million euro state schemes to support travel agents and tour operators and incentivise tillage as part of efforts to assist the tourism industry in the wake of the pandemic and farmers facing cost increases.
Minister for State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton has announced that a €10m support scheme for licensed travel agents and tour operators is open for applications. Prior to the pandemic, the sector reported annual turnover of €1.4bn and employment of 3,500.
Naughton said that travel agents had "suffered significant ongoing disruption to its business during the pandemic," with the funding being allocated to help travel agents and tour operators with non-pay business costs.
"I am cognisant that this sector, of which many are small family-run businesses located in towns and villages across the country has remained open to support its customer base in the most challenging of circumstances since March 2020 with a recovery much slower than other parts of our economy," Naughton added.
"The trade generated through licensed outbound travel agents and tour operators is a factor in generating demand for vital air service connectivity between Ireland, our regions and overseas markets.”
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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, meanwhile, has launched the Tillage Incentive Scheme as part of his department's €12m package of supports for farmers.
Proposed payment rate of €400 per hectare to encourage them to grow more barley, oats, wheat and other tillage crops, reflecting the increased cost of growing crops while the war in Ukraine continues -- both Russia and Ukraine are significant sources of global cereal exports.
"As part of our response to the cost increases currently facing Irish farmers, I am delighted to launch the Tillage Incentive Scheme," McConalogue said.
"The Tillage Incentive Scheme aims to support farmers to grow more tillage crops in 2022, to reduce Ireland’s dependency on imported feed material.
"We have acted quickly to put this package in place and I am grateful to my department and everyone in the sector for working so hard to deliver it."
McConalogue urged farmers to take account of the scheme when deciding what crops to sow in the coming days and weeks and reminded them that crops declared on their 2022 Basic Payment Scheme application will be the basis for entry into the scheme.
For an area of crops to be eligible, the land must have been in grassland in 2021. Farmers wishing to apply for the Tillage Incentive Scheme should declare the eligible crops on their 2022 BPS application on www.agfood.ie by the closing date of 16 May, 2022.
(Pic: Getty Images)
